Special Counsel
| last = }} "Special Counsel" was a member of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and one of the original 8 people who know about the Machine. He may even be "Special Counsel" himself, which is a position which is filled by Presidential appointment, followed by Congressional confirmation. Background Aside from being Special Counsel, he was also connected to The Machine's relevant function of tracking down terrorists and neutralizing them. It is hinted that he was both Denton Weeks and Alicia Corwin's superior, however he answered to someone higher up known only as Control. Working in collusion with Control he ordered the execution of all the engineers who helped reassemble the Machine including Daniel Aquino, to help preserve the secrecy of the Machine. 2010 After it was discovered that Nathan Ingram had contacted a reporter to reveal the truth about the Machine, Special Counsel ordered Hersh to take him out under the guise of a terrorist bombing. 2012 He sent out a team of hitmen to assassinate Henry Peck after he came too close to finding out about the Machine. After Alicia Corwin was murdered, he conspired with Denton Weeks and Hersh to cover-up the case and to make sure that there are no connections to them. When Weeks went missing, he sent Hersh to look for him but Hersh only found him dead. He later sent Hersh to kill the "Man in the Suit" but redirected him to Rikers Island when it appears the FBI have captured him. When asked about all four suspects he tells Hersh to kill them all. 2013 After Hersh's failed attempt to kill The Man in the Suit at Rikers Island, Special Counsel once again instructs Hersh to find Reese and kill him. This time, Hersh loses to Reese in a hand to hand combat and is stabbed non-fatally. After recovering in the hospital, Special Counsel calls him in to deal with more important matters. He then begins drafting a letter with his new secretary, who unknown to him is Root. He or Control ordered the hit on Michael Cole and Samantha Shaw, two ISA agents responsible for neutralizing the terrorist threats, because they began questioning the source of their information. Cole was killed but Shaw managed to escape. Shaw tracked Special Counsel down to a party to hand over Cole's research, as she still believed in the Project. She then shot and killed her handler, Wilson, in front of Special Counsel for betraying her and Cole. Unfazed but impressed by Shaw, Special Counsel lets her walk away. However he later has Hersh poison and kill Shaw to tie up any loose ends. Unknown to them Shaw survived thanks to the efforts of Reese and Finch. When Root reveals her true purpose to him, he is held at gunpoint and forced to give her information about the Machine. He was then left unconscious and tied up in his office. He was eventually freed by Hersh and his men. He ordered them to find and neutralize Root and anyone working with her. Along with Hersh and his men, Special Counsel arrived at the Nuclear facility in Washington state where the Machine was being stored only to find that it was not there. He encounters Finch, Shaw, Root, and Reese. After berating Shaw for betraying them he reveals to Finch that he always suspected there was someone more powerful behind Ingram. After learning that the Machine moved itself he asks whether the Machine will still generate relevant numbers. He tells Finch that without it the country would be defenseless and to trust them with the Machine. Finch tells him that it is up to the Machine if it wants to contact them and that Ingram trusted him too and he killed him. After Finch, Shaw, Root, and Reese leave, he receives a call from an unknown woman and tries to assure her that they will locate the Machine. She however orders Hersh to kill him, along with the other people in the room. Unfazed by the order he does not attempt to escape. His final words are "fair enough", indicating he understands why he is being killed. Victims *Nathan Ingram (killed under the guise of a terrorist bombing on his orders) *Harold Finch (severely injured in the ferry bombing; survived) *Asif (suicide bomber forced to detonate the ferry bomb that killed Ingram and injured Finch) *All the people killed or injured in the ferry bombing *Daniel Aquino and the engineers that helped reassemble The Machine (killed under his and Control's orders to protect the secrecy of the Machine) *Henry Peck (targeted by Fox under his orders; survived) *Brian Kelly (killed by Hersh under his orders) *Reese (targeted under his orders; survived) *Michael Cole (killed by Wilson's team on his and Control's order) *Samantha Shaw (targeted by Wilson's team on his and Control's order; survived) *Lawrence Szilard (killed by Hersh's snipers on his orders) Notes * Special Counsel and Denton Weeks were involved in what they called "a little project" which could have involved Alicia Corwin at some point, too. After Hersh found and removed the RFID tag, they seemed highly concerned, indicating that the tag might have been planted in Corwin by a third party. * When Hersh turns the gun on him, Special Counsel seems to understand he has to be killed. It is unclear why he is killed: it may be that anyone who has served their purpose in the Project is expected to die, keeping the circle of people who know about it small, or it may be the price for making a major error. Trivia * The character was initially identified as Pennsylvania Two in the press release for , as well as the episode's credits. * In the press release for and , the character was listed as Special Counsel, and has been identified that way since. This may be the result of a clearance issue with the original name, may have been a preference by the writers, or may have resulted from a decision to go another direction with the character. Category:Recurring Characters Category:Characters Category:Deceased Characters Category:Characters with yellow box Category:Unnamed Characters Category:Government